Adam Kovac is a breaking news reporter at Scientific American.
The Pentagon just started releasing UFO files, but skeptics say they’re not impressed
The Pentagon’s first UFO file release includes photographs, videos and documents gathered as part of an effort that spans several governmental offices and agencies, including the FBI, the White House and NASA
Trump administration cut funding to study hantavirus, the virus behind the deadly cruise ship outbreak
The Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases were designed to study viruses that could jump from animals to people, including hantavirus, but in 2025 the National Institutes of Health said the work wouldn’t continue
Shake it off: NASA’s Curiosity rover gets its robotic arm stuck inside a rock on Mars
Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, but the Mars rover Curiosity just keeps on groovin’—even if its handlers had to spend several days freeing its drill from a rock
A dangerous experiment is playing out on a cruise ship with hantavirus
The tragic and fatal outbreak of hantavirus onboard a luxury cruise ship highlights the gaps in research and treatments for the rare and mysterious infection—including how the virus spreads among people
Antinicotine advocates and lawmakers criticize the FDA’s decision to approve flavored vapes
The president had vowed to “save vaping” on the campaign trail in 2024, but the decision is already drawing fire from antinicotine advocates and a bipartisan group of lawmakers
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere just hit a ‘depressing’ new record
These data come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Mauna Loa Observatory, which may soon be shut down because of proposed government budget cuts
Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin moon lander completes a crucial test as race with SpaceX heats up
NASA announced that this uncrewed lander, named Endurance, completed vacuum testing on Earth—a key step toward a planned launch later this year
Supreme Court extends temporary order allowing abortion drug mifepristone by mail
On May 11 the Supreme Court extended a pause on a ruling by a federal appeals court that prevented health care providers from prescribing mifepristone by telemedicine, setting the stage for further action from the nation’s highest court
What you need to know about hantavirus, the infection at the center of a deadly cruise ship outbreak
Hantavirus spreads through contact with rodents and causes rare infectious diseases that can lead to kidney failure or a buildup of fluid in the lungs
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks tonight—here’s how to get the best view
This annual meteor shower occurs as Earth passes through the dusty debris left behind by Halley’s Comet as it journeys around the sun
A SpaceX rocket booster is on track to hit the moon at several times the speed of sound
While there is no immediate danger, this crash highlights that space junk is increasingly expanding out of lower-Earth orbit
Trump ends MAHA activist and wellness influencer Casey Means’s bid for surgeon general
On Thursday the president announced he is nominating Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and Fox News contributor, as the nation’s top doctor
What’s faster than light? Darkness
A recent experiment revealed that individual dark points on a light wave can move faster than the wave itself
DOJ indicts former Fauci adviser David Morens on charges related to the COVID pandemic
Former National Institutes of Health official David Morens is accused of evading record requests related to the COVID pandemic’s origins and gain-of-function research
NASA chief Jared Isaacman hints at campaign to make Pluto a planet again
The NASA administrator’s latest remarks in support of reexamining Pluto’s status come 20 years after the orb was downgraded to a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union
Could fusion energy soon join the U.S. power grid?
The fusion energy start-up Commonwealth Fusion Systems aims to bring its first power plant online by the early 2030s, but daunting technical hurdles remain
See Astrobotic pull off a major test of its ‘ring of fire’ rocket engine
Rotating detonation rocket engines work differently than traditional rockets to maximize thrust while using less fuel—an advantage that could help spacecraft explore farther in the solar system
The science behind the Adidas shoes that helped two marathoners break the two-hour mark
A sub-two-hour marathon has long been seen as a tantalizing benchmark for elite runners—and shoemakers have been in a race to design footwear that can help them get there
See the iconic Sombrero Galaxy in stunning new images that reveal its enormous glowing halo
This galaxy, also known as Messier 104, gets its nickname from its central bulge and outer dust trail, which give it a sombrerolike appearance from our vantage point
Buckyballs and a cosmic question mark stun in new JWST imagery of a planetary nebula
New James Webb Space Telescope images could shed fresh light on how dying stars evolve over time
Africa could split apart sooner than scientists thought
New research reveals that a rift in Earth’s crust is just a few million years away from splitting the continent of Africa into two—and creating a new ocean
Wildfire ‘red flag’ warnings are in effect for large chunks of the U.S. Here’s what to know
These wildfire warnings are in place up and down the country, from Texas to North Dakota and Minnesota
Mysterious golden orb discovered two miles below the ocean surface isn’t an alien—it’s an anemone
This enigmatic orb has undergone extensive examination and DNA testing, enabling scientists to reveal its true origins
A passage from Homer’s Iliad has been discovered inside the abdomen of a Roman-era Egyptian mummy
A snippet of text from Homer’s famous epic recounting the siege of Troy was apparently placed inside this body as part of the mummification process